Wales expects EU broadband plan approval within three months

The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) is confident of receiving EU approval for its super-fast broadband strategy within the next three months.

BT has been chosen by the WAG to conduct the rollout, which will see fibre optic broadband with speeds of up to 80Mbps deployed to 96 per cent of Welsh homes and businesses by the end of 2015.

However, several English councils have complained they have been prevented from proceeding with their own broadband strategies as the European Commission rules on whether giving public money to a private telecoms firm constitutes illegal state aid.

Despite these fears, a WAG spokesman told TechWeekEurope that the government is optimistic approval for its rollout will be granted in time for physical engineering work to commence in the autumn.

"We have already started the mobilisation work so we can hit the ground running once the formal approvals are finalised, with detailed planning and survey work well underway," he explained.

BT has so far won all five broadband contracts awarded under the Broadband Delivery UK framework.

Fujitsu, its only real rival in the process, has pulled out of the running in several areas, including Wales, Cumbria and North Yorkshire.